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Observations from the driver’s seat:
When John Horton and I hatched the idea of an “independent ski test” some 5 months ago, I immediately envisioned how the event would proceed and ultimately, what we would hope to accomplish. Seldom does the actual event meet your initial expectations. This time, it did.
The winning combination: A stellar group of skis coupled with a gathering of top-level skiers who understand the mechanics of skiing and appreciate a ski’s relative impact along with a comprehension of the variables involved in tuning a ski to one’s own personal style. This is what made the event a success.
Through more than 10 hours in the driver’s seat, I was able to capture the initial reaction of the skier at the end of each pass. The looks of amazement, bewilderment, excitement and relief are the faces I will remember. Phrases such as “effortless”, “damn, this thing is fast”, “change the name to milk truck”, “this thing is killing me” to “I’m buying one when I get home – no – I’m taking THIS one”. The one thing to remember is that this was a tough group not given easily to hype.
What I came away with was this; there was not a “bad” ski nor was there was a clear winner. Certainly, there were those skis that I thought would do better or worse and I was surprised on more than one occasion. At least one skier thought every ski was the best he had ridden. Considering that no one tested his or her regular ski, this was quite a revelation to me. Those who said they could not ride a particular brand did better than even they expected. Those who thought their style would not suit a particular ski were pleasantly surprised.
This exercise revealed to me that the ski manufacturers have done a particularly good job of designing user-friendly products that are capable of turning both sides equally well and suiting a diverse group of styles and abilities. This is no small feat.
It is my hope that thru the dissemination of this data that every skier can relate to some portion of the information and utilize it in their decision making process. To that end, none of what is published in this site will circumvent the actual water time that is required to understand a ski’s capabilities relative to one’s ability and style. To me, that’s half the fun of this sport!
John: Thanks for a great weekend – let’s do it again sometime. To everyone else – enjoy!
Joe H. Darwin, III
